Hey folks, this is Tim Hower making another guest appearance. I was out at the Hoggard-Ashley boys game on Tuesday night in a game with major playoff implications.

Let me start off by saying I usually do not like to write about officiating. My dad is a wrestling official, so I have a lot of respect for the men and women in stripes.

With that being said, I have been to three basketball games over the past few weeks that have had horrific officiating.

It started with Rose-Ashley on Jan. 29 where the Screaming Eagles got whistled for 10 fouls to the Rampants’ two in the fourth quarter.

On Feb. 5, I covered the North Brunswick-South Brunswick overtime game. It almost didn’t go to overtime because a hand check was called 25 feet from the basket with the score tied and five seconds left in the game. The North Brunswick player missed both free throws and South ended up winning in overtime.

Tonight’s was probably the worst I’ve seen.

I love basketball. I sat at the Brogden Tournament and Time Warner Holiday Classic all day earlier this year and still wished I could see more basketball. That being said, I would have rather watched paint dry than watch this game and that is by no means meant as a disrespect to Ashley or Hoggard.

The officials completely took over, calling 44 total fouls. I’ll give them credit, they kept it even, whistling each team for 22. The teams combined to attempt 65, yes 65, free throws. They only attempted 57 total shots.

Each high school game lasts 32 minutes, so that means there was more than a foul per minute and two free throws per minute. When the whistle constantly blows there is no flow to the game and it gets downright ugly.

I am one of the lucky few that doesn’t have to pay to get into these games. I truly feel sorry for people that had to spend money to sit through that game.

Here are a few notes not related to officiating:

Hoggard gets revenge

There were two main differences in this game and the one played at Hoggard earlier this year.

The first was the fact that Hoggard’s leading scorer, Stilman White, was back on the court. The junior guard didn’t suit up in the first meeting because of a knee injury. White put on a show on Tuesday, scoring 26 points, including 10 in the second quarter where the Vikings took control of the game.

“Well frankly, we hate Ashley and they hate us,” White said. “They gave us a good butt whooping at our place and we wanted to come back and return the favor.

“They played well and they are a good team, but we were in a must-win situation and we came out with nothing to lose.”

The other main key was Hoggard’s interior defense. In the first meeting Ashley big men Travis Keys and T.J. Williams combined for 30 points and 11 rebounds. On Friday, Williams didn’t score and Keys had 16 points and 6 rebounds.

“I thought we did a good job defending the paint,” Hoggard coach Brett Queen said. “A lot of their scoring in the paint the first time came because we were so far behind and we had to start trapping and gambling and we gave up easy baskets inside.

“We were able to get off to a good start tonight and so we didn’t put ourselves in a position where we had to gamble defensively.”

Hoggard jumped out to 20-9 lead early in the second quarter and led 31-19 at halftime. That forced Ashley coach Bryn McSwain to sit Williams and matchup with Hoggard’s four-guard lineup.

“Getting behind early allowed them to dictate matchups,” McSwain said. “Once we got behind, they didn’t make many mistakes.”

Stat Time

· Hoggard shot 64 percent (18 of 28) from the field. They shot 61 percent in the first half and 70 percent in the second half.

· The Vikings didn’t miss a shot from the field in the third quarter. They were a perfect 6-for-6. They did commit five turnover and were just 1-for-4 from the free throw line.

· Ashley shot 45 percent (13 of 29) from the field. They shot 31 percent in the first half and 62 percent in the second half.

· The teams combined to make 15 of 23 second-half field goals.

· Hoggard shot 31 free throws and Ashley attempted 34.

· The Vikings won their third consecutive game to move to 4-5 in the conference, while Ashley dropped its fourth in a row to slip to 3-6.

I said this yesterday on the Title blog..the officiating has been horrible this year. My son also plays AAU basketball and those same refs are officiating those leagues as well..Its always the same refs and the same horrible calls..Who regulates the officials for the Mideastern Conference?

Well, I have a lot of respect for the women and men who are in stripes as well. It’s a tuff way to bring home a check. But, I have to agree Tim. I’ve been to 19 games this season and the Mideastern Conference officials in my opinion have shaped the conference standings in one way or another (Girls and Boys). I have a lot of respect and love for the game and how it truly relates to life’s up’s and downs. Now, with that being said “How are the kid’s on the court learning anything about how to play basketball properly when such poor officiating dominates the game?”
When I’ve witnessed and videotaped conduct on the court that could cause injury and could change the outcome of a team’s season is truly unbelievable. When TLN is recording the games to be played back on TWC the officials wake up and do a half way decent job. When the lights and cameras are gone “Anything Goes.” These kids deserve better. They spend countless hours practicing and preparing for each game plus, the work they do in the classroom to be academically eligible in order to play. Mideastern Conference officials need to understand the spectators are not at the games to watch them officiate we are at the games to support the kids, coaches and schools.
I’m looking forward to reading your story on this issue. If you need any evidence to support the claims of poor officiating I have plenty of video proof.

I was at the Ashley/Hoggard Game last night and the officiating was bad. The one ref that follows Hoggard up and down college road was sooooo biased. He was very quick with the whistle when making calls for Hoggard and tend to ignore the calls that should have been made for Ashley. On several occasions, he made calls from half court when he was clearly out of position and it wasn’t his call. Other times he sucked on his whistle when calls should had been made for Ashley.

The Laney 5, I honestly cant see how the officials “shaped the conference standings” even though I agree they are bad. Theres is no hiding thzt I am a NH supporter, but even if I weren’t I think it would be hard to say that NH did not win the conference pretty handily. I felt that the refs were just as bad in the opponents favor than in NH’s favor in many of the games this season. Just like you said, the players work hard throughout the season, and saying the refs helped shape the standings takes away fromt their hard work. Please dont get me wrong though, something needs to be done, bc the fundamentals that are taught are all being thrown out the window on game time.

I know for a fact we could have won the New Bern game the first time we met and probably wouldnt be tied with other teams but the ref called our shot a two when it was a three..thats shaping the conference standings in my opinion..and we had another game against Pender where we clearly called a timeout with about 4 seconds left after Pender shot a three that put them up by one..the refs ignored the players and hurridly ran off the court..they dont even try to hide their favoritism anymore..I feel like if a ref knows the kids personally, then they shouldnt ref for that game..they would become too biased..my opionion only..

I am a BB official but I do no games in this are for that reason. The game of BB is not being taught right all the way down to the little kids. They are playing earlier and being taught less then 20 years ago. Thus you get bad games. The ref is put in the worse postion of all. What do you call and what not to call. The easy answer is call what you see but that is not the whole court. In a three man crew you have your area you have to call and you can not account for the other two. Are there bad refs out there?? Sure!! But games are won and lost with funamentals taht are not being taught.

Ashley vs. Hoggard game was the worst officiated game i have ever seen. It was obvious from the first possession of the game when the ref called a travel that Hoggard was going to win. It is pretty sad when you go to a high school basketball game in New Hanover county you look at who is officiating it and you know who is going to win right off hand.

THere have been many games that Ive watched and thought that these refs really are tryin to keep this game close, or games that I thought the refs were doing everything in their power to keep NH from winning. Again i am biased bc I really only go to NH games, but in those instances ive felt the refs were very much one sided, yet NH still found a way to win those games, and most of them pretty handily. Yea it has been a problem, and I also understand that its a tough job and probably everything we are saying isnt completely true, but again dont put all you eggs in the Referee basket for you team not being in the top of the conference. If ive heard “man the refs, cheated” once, ive heard it a million times, and that always seems to be peoples only excuse.

I totally agree with shawns post. Fundamental are clearly lacking with most players in our area. For Laney fan to come on the blogs and criticize officiating is a joke. You should look in house with your programs problems. Hoggard clearly has the most fundamentally sound team in the county, and that is a credit to the coach. Ashley is doing a good job and clearly on the right track. New Hanover gets it done with a different style of ball and tenacious defense. These three teams do a good job, but Laney doesnt get the most out of its team in my opinion. As far as officiating, i wouldnt criticize unless you have put the stripes on and done it yourself. Officials try to officiate the game in an unbiased/non emotional way. Fans that criticize obviously see things in a bias way and not an objective way. Sports writers shouldnt comment on games about officiating when you have previous ties with a local school.Take the emotion out of it. Refs will miss calls, just like players miss shots, and coaches mismanagement of a game. Its all part of human nature. Its easy to make mistakes and nobody is perfect.

Unibias Fan-sound like you Mad at Laney for some reason..Were you one of the refs at the game I spoke of..Did you try out as a student and didnt make it? I never once said anything bad about these other teams only the officiating..Must have hit a nerve..I think New Hanover county has great teams with Laney included..Laney has great players on their teams and they have beaten Hoggard and Greenville Rose and New Bern and we will see Ashley tomorrow..like I said yesterday..I didnt come here to get in a debate with whose team is better..the article was on officiating..How many calls they miss is the issue? How can you not have emotion playing basketball? You sound just like those refs..missing the issue (call)

Laney fan, you’re right. I should’ve stuck to the topic of of criticizing officials, instead of mentioning deficencies in regards to high school basketball. Each facet of the game, officiating included has fundamentals that cant be ignored. At any rate to unfairly criticize officials when your team loses is unfair. I am a New Hanover county resident and I like all the schools in the county Laney equally. I think Laney has done a good job of coming on strong toward the end of the season, but early on they were underachieveing in my opinion. Goodluck the rest of the way.

I been told there is really nothing we can do even when is obvious to everyone how bad the officiating is. There are some good ones but apperently if there not is doesn’t matter. I thougt you were not supposed to Ref in your own county, and why is one allowed to work gameswhen he has a spouse working with that Highschool. Seems to be a conflict of interest.

I would invite anyone who criticizes officials, Tim included, to go to school, get certified, and start working asap. Most people don’t have a knowledgable understading of basketball rules in the first place (they think they do). For the safety, and integrity of the game, fouls have to be called. Numbers are irrelevant. Officials that call high school basketball are pathetically paid, and most of them work very hard. No one ever appreciates the time and effort they give. Maybe next week, games should be played without them. When your team loses, don’t forget to look at free throws missed and turnovers, because that surely doesn’t have anything to do with it. Before you are so quick to judge, put yourseld in their place.

I have thought it best to stay out of this discussion but I would like to respond to a couple things. Officiating is a hard job, and I don’t think anyone denies that. I, myself, have been an official and understand how difficult the criticism can be. Tim and I have the utmost respect for those who choose to officiate. That being said, part of our job is to observe and report what we see as well as ask questions. Tim made note of the officiating in Tuesday’s game, as well as two others, and gave his opinion. While some might disagree with him, I know it was nothing he did lightly. We are looking into doing a story, and not just because of that game. For the entire season, we have had coaches make comments to us about the inconsistency of the officiating from crew to crew. We have seen this ourselves, where in one game a player can get mugged and not get a foul and in another game barely get touched and have plenty of fouls. For the most part, we disregard comments coaches make about officiating. But when it’s several coaches spanning an entire season, we need to ask questions. Is there any merit to complaints about inconsistency? How are officials evaluated? Are there patterns with certain crews? I do not know exactly what we will find, but I do think it is worth looking into.

Sorry Rachel, it’s the same old same old every year. When coaches lose they tend to blame it on the officiating. When officials names are mentioned in the paper, that is unprofessional. You could do a story every year about the officiating, or for that matter after every game!! Someone is always going to disagree with a call. Especially the team and coach the call went against. It’s an on going media frenzy, not only in high school sports, but college and pros as well. By some of Tim’s comments in the article, in my opinion shows a lack of respect for officiating. I totally agree with unbias fan, this topic needs to go away for the betterment of the community. Why don’t you focus on the players, and the good things they are doing. The more hype there is about this subject will no doubt make the players think when they lose, it’s no longer EVER their fault or the coaches fault. Plain and simple. Blame it on the officiating. It’s always poor. Enough said!!!

I will add one more thing. For those of you participating on this blog, say things like….. the refs are trying to keep a team from winning, one ref follows Hoggard up and down S. college Rd, I knew when the first travel was called who was going to win the game, the refs are trying to keep the game close? Really? Listen to what you are saying.

clueless about officiating…. I’ve seen one of the local teams play many times over the past few years and maybe it’s a coincidence, but this ref is always officiating their games. Even when other games are being played up and down College Rd. Based on another post, sounds like there is a conflict of interest with this ref. I don’t care who wins between the local teams, just looking for a good game.

BBall fan the ref in question has been calling games for many years and has earned the right to call those games. The bottom line to all this nonsense. Three man crews…each person should have a primary area they officiate, and help out in a secondary area when need be. Rachel you gave your example about one night someone can get clobbered (which i would hope a foul would be called) and then fouls are called on minimal contact on other nights. Officials have rules to abide by, but each probably SEES things differently. The only thing you can ask for is in each game the officials be consistent on that particular night. Sure each game will be called differntly but its up to the players and coaches to adjust to how the game is being officiated. Some teams press, some teams play more zone. Some teams set alot of screens etc. Just like teams play different, refs can call different. But consistency is critical for each game. Tim focuses on flow of the game, and i agree. But sometimes players being out of control or in bad defensive position makes the game become sloppy. In summary the games should be officiated with advantage/disadvantage. If there is minimal contact and no advantage or disadvantage occured then the whistle shouldnt blow. By the book could it be a foul?? Yes, but common sense of the official determines such things. Its really a simple concept, but fans dont understand. How many times have i been watching a game and heard 3 seconds 3 seconds. I mean get a clue!!! I fully support officials and there jobs, and i also support coaches and players. They are trying to win games, and the officials are trying to be as fair as possible. To suggest officals are trying to shape the conference standings, cheat, or gain something from these games is the dumbest thing i have ever heard. I can tell you 9 times out of 10 if a good official missed a call he would know right at that time he blew it. Sometimes when air gets put in the whistle, the official wishes he can take it back, but he cant. The bottom line is human element is involved and mistakes can be made. When you find a team,coach or player that gets things right 100% of the time, let me know. Until then criticizing officials publicly gets nothing accomplished.

Let me address a couple comments then I will get into a little bit more about why I wrote this. First off, I don’t think the officials have determined the conference standings at all. New Hanover is clearly the best team and Rose is really good and the other four are all about equal. I think the conference standings are pretty much spot on. I also don’t think any officials favor any local teams. The area officials are all great people and don’t have any biases. I also have no biases. I took offense to the comment that I shouldn’t be allowed to write articles about Ashley, because I am a graduate. I treat every school equally and I think every coach in the county would agree with me. Now, let me explain a little bit more about why I decided to write this. Anyone who was in attendance for the Hoggard-Ashley game can attest to the fact fouls and foul shooting were the keys to the game. Our job as reporters is to write about the most important part of the game. There were really no ‘key shots’ or ‘key runs’ in the game. There was free throw shooting and more free throw shooting. We have a limited amount of space in print, so we have to focus no the main point. Since we didn’t cover the game, but I still attended, I figured I would give my insight. I’m sorry if that offended the officials, but my job is to report the facts. It is a fact that 44 fouls were called and 65 foul shots were taken. Here is my problem with how that game, and others this year, have been officiated. There were a lot of fouls in Tuesday’s game, and I don’t have a problem with the number of fouls called. The problem I have is the number of foul shots. There were three or four instances I can recall off the top of my head where the foul was clearly committed on the floor, yet two shots were given. Every foul is not a shooting foul. If the player is making a pass and is foul, he does not deserve foul shots. The officials have to do a better job watching the play in its entirety. The other problem I have is the fact that the officials don’t seem to inform the players of their mistakes. This is a controversial issue, but my thought is that the officials should talk to the players and say stuff like “Get your hands off him” or “get out of the lane” instead of just immediately calling a foul or three seconds. It’s high school basketball and players are still only 15-18 years old. If the official says something to them and they continue to reach on defense, I’m all for calling a foul. Afterward, the official should tell the player he still played with his hands instead of his feet. I think a lot of hand check calls would be eliminated if this were to happen. I appreciate all the comments and I understand this is a sensitive subject, but it was something that needed to be brought to light.

Uni-Wow..if its 3 seconds and by your comment..Fans..meaning more than one person is constantly yelling it..then evidently the ref isnt seeing it which makes me to believe he isnt calling the game CORRECTLY wheeras lies the poor officiating…I support officials too but it has come down to outright mistakes..too many to count lately according to the comments on the blog..all of us cant be wrong on this if you have a majority seeing the same issues with refs..I dont know if refs have agendas and until someone has proof to show that then its all suggestive, but when you putting air in the whistle when you arent supposed to (from your account), maybe you need to stop blowing all together and hang up your stripes..my opionion only..

and the three man crew..why have I seen in games where one ref who is right there at the play down at the basket call a foul and the ref standing at halfcourt will also call a different foul where it then leads to the one standing farthest away from the play making a call..how does the ref who isnt even there under the basket seems to get to overturn whistle calls..those are mistakes that shouldnt be happening in games..

unbias fan you are right on!! Tim, officials do the very thing you are talking about. They do caution players at times, and just because you saw it as a foul committed on the floor, maybe the official did not. It all depends on who you were pulling for doesn’t it? Or who you talked to. It’s all a matter of opinion, isn’t it? Please refer to last submission by unbiasfan. That says it all.

Tim i didnt mean to call you out about being a graduate from Ashley. But just like you reported the facts about what you saw, my post also reported a fact about you attending Ashley.lol Anyway i think your writing about officiating could bring some good in the long run. The points i am trying to make is regardless of how good an official, coach or player is they can make mistakes. Its human nature.Just like Fox Station says “you report, we decide.” Keep up your hard work, and hope this in no way takes away from what you are doing. Also an article about officiating could help the fans, coaches and players get on the same page. But communication during a game with coaches and players could prevent alot of marginal foul calls.

All of you bring up valid points but let’s look at reality. The officiating has been bad for a long time. The best teams in the area play through it just as they have done for a long time. People complain at the college and pro levels so it’s not just southeastern NC. The area’s best boys teams like NH and Pender don’t make a lot of excuses. The area’s best girl’s teams like E. Bladen and Ashley seem to get through it too. The rest tend to make excuses. It’s that way everywhere you go. Until someone puts a stop to basketball officials who have never played, or are getting too old to run up and down, or simply don’t cut their teeth at summer offseason camps and try to hone their craft…. You will continue to get the same results.

Let me say that I was at the Hoggard Ashley game and yes there were a lot of fouls but both teams played very agressive man to man defense that always leads to more fouls than when teams are in Zone defenses and not as aggressive. Now he also made the comment that he saw times where players were clearly fouled out on the floor and not shooting and they got two shots which he critizied. If he would learn the rules all shoting fouls are 2 shots. The first 6 non shooting fouls are called with the ball out of bounds to the team that was fouled. On the seventh, eighth and nineth fouls the non shoting foul is rewarded with a 1 and 1. Make the first one and you get the second. On all fouls after 10 in a half, the team that gets fouled gets two shots, shooting or not. If you are going to take it upon your self to comment on the officiating, then learn the rules and if you are going to make the comment that a official was out of position to make a call then get a officiating manual that explains floor coverage and see that no where in that manual does it state that officials only make calls that occur on certain parts of the floor. Even though I think both the girls and boys wins for Hoggard were upsets, I do not think the officials were the reason for either teams victory. I have lost a lot of respect for a reporter that comments on officiating when he does not have a clue what he is talking about. Payton

Payton, I respect you as a peer in this business so I feel compelled to respond. I can assure you, first of all, that Tim knows the rules. And I know that Tim doesn’t see the officiating affecting the outcome. From what he wrote, it was called evenly and didn’t favor either team.

Clueless, I deal with my fair share of coaches who are frustrated with officiating after the game. Often, I am the first to talk to them and hear their frustration. Of course, I take it with a grain of salt. I know when they’re just mad, and if they’re honest, they usually cannot blame the outcome on the officials. That being said, consistently throughout this season and last we have had some level-headed discussions about the level of officiating. I do not agree that it always determines the outcome, and I am on record on this blog of saying players and coaches should not blame officiating. But I do believe it is not above questioning. While coaches can be fined for questioning officials publicly, we cannot. I don’t think we should be in the business of questioning single calls on a regular basis, when we notice a trend, we should look into it.

Rachel there is a process for coaches to express dissatisfaction of officiating. They have the option to mark off officials if they dont like certain ones calling there games.They can also call the area supervisor and voice displeasure. If that doesnt work, coaches can contact the Supervisor of officials for the North Carolina High Schools. If they have the tape they can send a copy of the tape. Officials should be held accountable for blown calls, but like i said before…mistakes happen. As a reporter its ok for you to comment and give your opinion. I am not questioning Tims knowledge of the game either. Discussion of a topic shouldnt hurt anyone, and maybe if done the right way and using proper channels it could be a good piece. You guys do a great job covering high school sports, and although this topic was sensitive to a few it did create debate. That is what i love about this Country. We have the freedom to say what we want or atleast i hope we do.lol

“There were three or four instances I can recall off the top of my head where the foul was clearly committed on the floor, yet two shots were given. Every foul is not a shooting foul. If the player is making a pass and is foul, he does not deserve foul shots. The officials have to do a better job watching the play in its entirety”.

Okay Payton, you didn’t pay attention. No where does Tim state what you accuse him of. He knows the rules of bonus, double bonus and shooting fouls vs non-shooting fouls. You have made a mockery out of yourself and we hope to god you are not an official b/c if so the Wilmington area is bordering on catastropic status.
Tim’s mention of an official out of position: Valid point but your fantasy of officials being in “zones” is way off base. What he means is when you don’t rotate correctly and get your butt up the court fast enough you can’t see the correct angle and you swallow the whistle if you can’t see what really happens. Officials need to help and cover for each other, especially since high school officials don’t have the luxury of instant replay. Tim does know his BB b/c I have talked with him. You, Payton on the other hand are living in a dream world.

Why should the officials be abouve questioning, I agree its not easy and surely thankless but they choose to do for whatever reason. They hold a lot of power over the outcome of something these kids work so hard for. The President is not above being questioned so why shouldn’t they. This system you talk about to changeing them is ridiculous. I’ve know enough poeple in the business to know that doesn’t work. Tim and Rachel I applaud you for listening to what we have been saying for years. It’s not about trying make excuses like they what us to believe it’s aboyt what the kids deserve.

I just have to say..Hoggard beat Hanover and Laney beat Ashley..Hoggard and Laney are tied for second place in the conference but yet Greenville Rose was the contenders?..sorry Rachel, I couldnt resist..LOL..not one article this season was written on Laney but yet we are underachievers..Way to go to BOTH teams for finishing strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do Hoggard and Laney play a game to determine second place or depend on luck of the draw?? Seems to me the best way is to play it out. Tom Grady’s article said a draw, but Rachels article said playoff.

I hope laney and Hoggard plays it out..not some drawing to decide it..the only way to decide basketball games is to play them..lets a get a game going..both teams have split wins playing each other..would be a great game!!! And Rachel, I know you didnt mean any disrepect..I come to your blog every day..this is the only thorough info you can get on high school sports and Uni-thanks!!

Unbiasfan, my story also says draw. The coaches are meeting at 11 a.m. in Jacksonville to determine. They’ll either flip a coin or draw from a hat to see who gets the No. 2 seed and the first-round bye.

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About This Blog

Hey there, I’m Alex Rileyand I’m the high school sports writer for the StarNews in Wilmington.

Before coming to North Carolina, I was covering sports for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne for two-plus years. Before that, I was in Ellis County, Texas covering sports for Waxahachie Newspapers Inc. Originally I’m from Blythewood, SC and I’m a 2008 grad of the University of South Carolina.

Follow me on Twitter at @StarNewsVarsity or email me at alex.riley@starnewsonline.com.